Wednesday, January 09, 2013

Slate has run a puff
piece about five examples of so-called libertarian paternalism (i.e., the practice of using insights gained from
psychological studies to trick people into behaving the way the gang in
charge of a government wants them to) being put into practice around the globe.
I found the following passage thought-provoking:

In September 2012, the government of Australia's most populous
state announced that it would consult with Britain's
nudge unit to formulate new policies over a wide variety of areas. As in
other places that have adopted behavioralist ideas, the new plan was decried by some
commentators as a "toxic import from Britain" and a "threat ... to
democratic public life." But the New South Wales government -- like Britain,
controlled by the center-right -- is clearly intrigued by the
prospect of increasing government revenue and promoting virtuous behavior
in citizens without resorting to direct state interventions.

"But"? Either a politician (or his party generally) favors individual
rights and capitalism or he
does not, and his view of the proper role of government will
follow from his actual preference. The whole idea that the government should be
in the business of promoting behavior of any type (versus protecting
individuals from having their rights violated), or should redistribute wealth
by any means disqualfies anyone who looks for new ways to implement it from being regarded as
pro-capitalist.

The only contradiction between the politicians' being of the
"right" here and the fact that they are being sneaky about being central
planners is this: Too many voters apparently believe them to be pro-capitalist.
Their attraction to "nudging" actually makes perfect sense, given what they
claim to support (or are happy for people to go on believing they support) and
what they actually do.

At least when a blatant socialist like Barack Obama
hires a "nudger" like Cass Sunstein, there's no similar deception involved. I regard the endorsement or employment of such
methods by any politician from "the right" as despicable, and see such a tack as the act of a cowardly statist outing himself.